News Article

BMZ Partners in New Giga Lithium-Ion Cell Factory in Germany

FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany – Yesterday, the newly founded TerraE Holding GmbH i.G. announced its plan to build a factory for the large-scale production of lithium-ion cells in Germany. The founding shareholders of the new Frankfurt-based company is a well-known trio in the battery production business, including BMZ.

The three founders of TerraE are the German battery expert BMZ Holding GMBH, together with the former CEO of Swiss battery producer Leclanché SA Dr. Ulrich Ehmes and Holger Gritzka. Gritzka is a former manager of automotive and aviation system partner ThyssenKrupp System Engineering. He has been appointed CEO of TerraE.

E-mobility industry

The company intends to increase the battery cell production capacity step by step in the years ahead. According to the company statement they want to establish a total output: “up to 34 GWh per year by 2028. TerraE targets the e-mobility industry with different cell formats. Industrial partners as well as financial investors ate to secure the financing.” TerraE also states that they are “already discussing the project with partners in several European countries.”

‘Giga-LIB’ project

The most important part of the production concept is based on the results that have been developed within the ‘Giga-LIB’ project. This was aimed at creating a fully automated, intelligent and low energy consuming production process of lithium-ion cells. The project was backed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and part of an initiative within the lithium-ion battery competence network called ‘KLiB’. A total of 45 companies and institutes were once supporting the ‘KLiB’ project.

TerraE did not reveal more details on the founding and construction of its factory.